Wrong-headed & The Snipers

[Otto]

The Best of Both Worlds

Weber includes the "Quaker" when he uses the term "Puritan" and he says
little or better next to nothing about the acceptance of slavery in the
protestant ethic. But he says a lot about the differences between the
various protestant confessions. Reminds me of the old saying that whenever
you see two Dutch standing on a street corner it's a sect.

I liked the massive footnotes more than the main text & I found one, but
it's on the Dutch writers Bilderdijk and da Costa in the 19th century that
indicates that the abolition of slavery is rejected because it's seen as an
interference into predestination. To make a long story short: if it's been
God's will that these people have become slaves man is not right to change
this status. Absolutely logical if you believe in predestination. If you do
not a proper excuse for every crime in the name of the Lord:

"Schon in den 20er Jahren hatte unter Führung Bilderdijks und seiner Schüler
Isaak da Costa und Abraham Capadose (zweier getaufter Juden) die
prädestinatianische (deshalb z. B. auch die Abschaffung der Negersklaverei
als "Eingriff in die Vorsehung" ebenso wie die Impfung ablehnende !) und
gegen die mangelnde Kirchenzucht und Austeilung der Sakramente an Unwürdige
eifernde Bewegung eingesetzt und zu Separationen geführt. Die Synode der
"Afgeschiedenen gereformeerten Gemeente" zu Amsterdam 1890 verwarf unter
Annahme der "Dordrechter Canouns jegliche Art von Herrschaft (gezag) "in
oder über der Kirche". (p. 226)
Max Weber, Gesammelte Politische Schriften.
Potsdamer Internet-Ausgabe
http://www.uni-potsdam.de/u/paed/Flitner/Flitner/Weber/index.htm )

The following seems to indicate that within modern capitalism the abolition
of slavery is inevitable because capitalism relies on free work:

"Aber der Okzident kennt in der Neuzeit daneben eine ganz andere und
nirgends sonst auf der Erde entwickelte Art des Kapitalismus: die rational -
kapitalistische Organisation von (formell) freier Arbeit. Nur Vorstufen
dafür finden sich anderwärts. Selbst die Organisation unfreier Arbeit hat ja
nur in den Plantagen und, in sehr begrenztem Maß, in den Ergasterien der
Antike eine gewisse Rationalitätsstufe erreicht (...)"

And it supports Judy's argument that "Economics played a greater part in
eradication rather than any efforts of the spirit."

Sounds like an early-Dutch believers struggle between sagacious old men on
this list sometimes. Learned a new word - had to look up *sagacious*.

Otto

at a baptism:
"Halloh, Bill, was'n't the water pretty cool ?"
"Jeff, I thought of some pretty hot place and so I did'n't care for the cool
water."
(footnote p. 214, Max Weber, Gesammelte Politische Schriften.
Potsdamer Internet-Ausgabe
http://www.uni-potsdam.de/u/paed/Flitner/Flitner/Weber/index.htm )

----- Original Message -----
From: Terrance Flaherty <lycidas2 at earthlink.net>
To: <MalignD at aol.com>
Cc: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2002 12:44 AM
Subject: Re: Wrong-headed & The Snipers
>
>
> MalignD at aol.com wrote:
> > It is entertaining, however.
>
>
> Thank goodness for that!
>
> Now what?